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Someone planning to STEAL?

3K views 31 replies 23 participants last post by  mattaphore 
#1 ·
I've been riding my bike to school for the past couple of months with no problem. Until I came out one night and someone stole my wheels. I didn't lock up my tires because it would take too long and i needed to go to class. I unlocked my lock and pulled my frame up and guess what? Someone had locked up my bike with their lock. They locked up my fork to the bike rack. When I called the campus police they brought their cable cutters but said it wouldn't and couldn't cut through U-lock. I'm not sure if they are planning to come back to cut my U-lock off. But the campus police will "keep an eye on it" for someone to come back. Every time I'm around I never see them there.

What should I do? I have a Trek 4300. They U locked it inbetween the fork. I will take pictures of it later. I was wondering if this is what "theives" do to steal bikes. :madmax:
 
#2 ·
Man, that is a bummer. Why can't people leave other people's stuff alone? That is why one of my "Top Ten Cycling Tips" is don't leave your bike ANYWHERE, period... What can you do?

My feeling though is that the guys were after the wheels, and aren't particularly planning to come back for the bike. Those guys (sorry, &^%&^%s) are opportunists. Which doesn't mean someone else won't have a crack at it...
 
#3 ·
i know... the day was perfect and that brought my whole week down. I can't believe the cops won't do anything. Then when I walked home I noticed a lot of other bikes that had been locked up by u locks with everything stolen but the frame...
 
#4 ·
to bad im not there id bring my saw-all and generator and id get your bike for you. i also have oxygen acetylene with torch so we would have it. i think you can rent that and go back tonight and clime whats yours. everywhere you go there's an a**Hole


here is what you can do buy a can of freon if you can. spray it around the lock it will freeze then hit it with a hammer it will shatter.

also there is site online that show you how to get into a u-lock real easy look it up.

or you could call a locksmith service and have them pick it for you.

good luck Buddie
Jason
 
#5 ·
yah man, I had my Trek stolen from right outside my living room window in college too. I swear, for the next year I eyeballed every bike i saw to see if it was mine. I went to a relatively small school and mine was the only Trek in that specific color scheme that I knew of. Never did see that bike again. I'm still pretty peeved about it.

I guess that extra long cable lock that protects every part of my bike isn't such a bad investment.
 
#6 ·
kid clever38 said:
I guess that extra long cable lock that protects every part of my bike isn't such a bad investment.
One snip, and it's all gone...

Plain and simple, don't take your eye off a bike that you would be very sad to lose.
 
#7 ·
The ba$*^rds!

Looks to me like they not only stole your wheels but locked it up just to piss you off further or make it hard to get your frame. Obviously whoever they are they have some major hatred for bike owners!

I don't think they intend to come back for the frame, but with scum like that you never know. Get a hacksaw or whatever it takes and get your frame.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the responses... I tried using a hacksaw.. I had to show my identification twice today showing that I owned the bike and they had to check cause it was registered with the school police. The hacksaw didn't work.

I would try the freon but it seems dangerous. I'll check out what Rent-All is. I was wondering if I can unscrew the two bolts on the bottom of the fork. Would that let the fork slide out?
 
#13 ·
buconine said:
wouldn't it be easier to just unbolt the stem and slide the frame off the fork? if it has no wheels and is locked around the top of the fork, just do that and slide the fork out the bottom of the lock. take a pic so we can see what you are working with. good luck!
Good thinking!
I assumed they must have locked it in the stanchion area (between the top of the fork and the lowers). If you really can't get the lock off by any other means then it's time to learn how to do a fork service! You should be able to simply remove the lowers and the lock then comes off easy but you will probably need to put more oil in when you reassemble the fork, all depending on the brand & type of fork.

So yeah get a lock smith or if not and you're not comfortable at taking the fork apart see if the LBS will do you a favor for a small fee.
 
#14 ·
I had my RM switch stolen last night from the apparent safety of our Student Union stairwell (well lit, solid attachment point)
Being in the heat of Uconn's infamous spring weekend I was extremely nervous...
not ten minutes later it was gone...I freaked!!!!!
I called my girlfriend and she talked me through walking down the road hoping someone had simply ditched it or otherwise destroyed it
I talked to 4 cops, student union staff members, etc
I returned to the union and found more staff talking to staff I had already spoken with, just spreading the word-the lady looked at me and said "bike?...we have it!" apparently they don't want bikes locked in the cavernous space of the stairwell (totally out tof the way--def. not a fire hazard) they chopped my lock and gave me a f***ing heart attack!!!!

moral to the story: don't trust well lit, well traveled places, "responsible" employees, and get a bolt-cutter proof lock

sorry to those who weren't so lucky
 
#15 ·
the real moral of the story is, buy a $60 walmart bike for commuting around campus. that's what i did when in college. i laughed when i would see people lock up their bikes through the wheel. you'd always see a wheel or two locked up to the bike rack with no bike attached to it. sorry for the loss, but i know being in college you have no other place to keep a good bike (unless you get a roomate that appreciates bikes as well and lets you keep it in the dorm/apartment.
 
#16 ·
GT0neX said:
the real moral of the story is, buy a $60 walmart bike for commuting around campus. that's what i did when in college. i laughed when i would see people lock up their bikes through the wheel. you'd always see a wheel or two locked up to the bike rack with no bike attached to it. sorry for the loss, but i know being in college you have no other place to keep a good bike (unless you get a roomate that appreciates bikes as well and lets you keep it in the dorm/apartment.
Well it more the other way around. Most room mates will let you keep your bike in your dorm/apartment. It is the appreciates ones that do not let you do that. Then of course you can have a room mate like mine who does not car that I taken over the entire dining area with my bike and bike stuff.
As for dorm storage most of the time your roommate will not car as long as the bike is stored in some out of the way place in your room and there are a list of reason one can give to the ones that are a little pushy about leaving it out side lock up.
1. It is expenisive bike and I do ot want to risk getting it stolen
2. I am not storing my nice bike out in the elements to get damage and rust.

For reason 1. the counter argument would be get a good lock. for reason 2 the only real counter some one could give is it is a mtn bike and it gets mud and dirt on it all the time and it designed to take a pounding. Really not a good arugument. That a most people have always had the cheap walmart bikes that where not maintain and treated poorly and think that how a bike is supposed to be.

My roommate understood my reasoning for storing my bike inside.
1. The main use of my bike is not to get around campus so storing near the parking lot at campus is not any use.
2. He knows I do not want to get it stolen here at our house so that prevents it from being stored outside.
3. He knows I paid quite a bit of money for my bike and I want to take care of it and knows that I do not want to store it in the elements.

Now he is some one who knows very little about bikes and his bike is pretty much junk. The chain is rusty, hardly shifts any more ect. but he understands that I am excited about mtn biking.

As for a the OP keep us updated on your luck of getting your bike off the lock. and in the future might I suggest you get a steel cable to lock you wheels and seat to your U-Lock. That way it harder to take you other stuff at least and hopefully they would go on to easier targets.
 
#17 ·
Hanzo Steel said:
If its a regular key you can pick it, but if its one of those round ones you have to drill or cut.
Round/Tubular locks are the easiest to pick... takes a 49 cents plastic bic pen barrel. That's why tubular locks have all but vanished now except on really cheap U-locks.
 
#19 ·
I couldn't leave my bikes anywhere and feel comfortable. I leave my bike in my stock room so I can drool over it while I run on the treadmill and we keep the other bike in the garage. If I have to go pee somewhere on the trails...I'm doing the hike a bike and it never leaves my side. I'd definitly get a cheap uner $100 bike for school. There will always be thieves but karmas karma and it'll come back to bite em in the ass:thumbsup:
 
#20 ·
My son is at school at Nyack, NY. We bought him a policy through nssi.com to protect his things for not too much money. Unfortunate truth is that locks cant keep professional thieves away. I don't love giving my money to the insurance company, but it's the best protection we've found.
 
#21 ·
About the dismantling fork suggestion - I just realized it probably won't work, you'll get the lock off the fork but in the end it's still stuck around the frame.

Guess it looks like a locksmith job (or angle grinder!) and please keep us posted.
 
#23 ·
Sorry to hear about your loss.

There is another sneaky trick to stealing bicycles that one should be aware of:

  • A person will properly lock their bicycle up.
  • A thief will see the bike and place his own lock on it.
  • The owner of the bike removes their locks only to discover the extra lock.
  • The owner forgets to re-lock the bicycle and gets the police.
  • The thief comes back and removes his lock, and steals the bike.
  • The police come only to find the owner's locks are secured properly except there is no bicycle.

---

Now since I live in the Netherlands - there is a very high theft rate for bicycles out here.

There are some locks that come with an anti-theft chip on it straight from the factory
--> Click Me For Picture (Original Source Sorry in Dutch, but the cliff notes are in the pictures).

Another good tip is to use different types of locks - many thieves are specialized in only one or two types of locks - bolt cutters, able to pick a certain lock, etc.

A lock with sound (Xena Security, Lock Alarm will actually draw attention to the thief - and that is something that they do not want when trying to steal your bike.

Don't buy the same lock as everybody else - a thief will most likely be specialized in the off the rack ones than some obscure mail order foreign country lock.

I know it is a pain to carry multiple locks, so figure on getting 3 different strong type of locks - and it doesn't have to be the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Chain 5` w/NY Disc Lock that weighs 13+ lbs :eekster: either (I have one for the motorcycle and they are f'ing heavy.)
 
#25 ·
Root Rat said:
Do a Google search for How to pick a bike lock. Then check out the videos. There are a lot of articles on this as well. All you need is a pen. good luck
When I got my Xena lock, it was about 3 months after the whole "bic pen" incident.

All the cylinder locks were redesigned and had to go for a new certification before being approved "X Level" safe again.

A lot of companies decided to get rid of the cylinder style locks all together - Kryptonite being one of them - and did a whole new design.

Like I said before, if a thief wants something bad enough, he will get it - there is no argument there.

Personally, I would rather have to carry a couple extra locks than be worried all the time if I will be walking home.
 
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